Winning the qualification series on iRacing has earned Schothorst a spot in the World’s Fastest Gamer Competition finals to be held at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, England, later this year. The finals will determine the winner of the ultimate gaming prize — to be named a McLaren Formula One simulator driver.

“I think it is fantastic that McLaren is the first Formula One team to take the step into sim racing. The professionalism and effort that McLaren are putting into this demonstrates they take it very seriously,” Schothorst said. “I am very excited to have won the iRacing qualification for the McLaren World’s Fastest Gamer competition. iRacing is, in my opinion, the best sim racing platform and I’m very proud to be representing iRacing during the Finals in Woking. I can’t wait to show my abilities and compete with the very best sim racers of the world at the McLaren Technology Centre in November.”

Schothorst earned his championship with five wins in nine starts during the four-week season against some of the very best drivers in iRacing, the world’s premier online racing game. Racing the McLaren MP4-30 on tracks including Suzuka Circuit, Circuit of the Americas, Autodromo Nazionale Monza and Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace (Interlagos), Schothorst proved he is able to race against the best on some of the world’s most challenging race tracks.

The 20-year-old Schothorst is from Amsterdam and has been an avid iRacing member since 2016. He quickly moved up the ranks and earned his World Championship-level sim racing license and recently finished third in the 2017 championship. Racing is clearly in his blood as both of his brothers race professionally — one in the GP3 series and the other in the Blancpain GT Series.

“Schothorst was strong all season and his consistency helped him capture the championship. These skills will serve him well in the finals as that is exactly what you need from a team’s simulator driver,” iRacing.com executive vice president and executive producer Steve Myers said. “Everyone here at iRacing is looking forward to watching the finals and I know he will represent us well.”